Celebrating Fay Noell and her love for cooking

By Cathey E. Noell

Published: Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 12:21 AM.

She is just a wisp of a woman, dainty and soft-spoken. As she listens to you and responds, her eyes twinkle like two bright stars, but yet she is also strong in mind and strong in body as it is said of descendants of the Industrial Revolution.

She is Fay Noell, born in Staffordshire, England in 1932. Fay is my husband’s aunt, and I consider myself very lucky to call her Aunt Fay as well.

Fay and I have a lot in common. We both married into the Noell clan, where we had to deal with other strong-minded women. Therefore, we both were intent on raising strong, independent and caring daughters of our own.

I have one daughter and Aunt Fay has three, Elizabeth, Louise and Sarah. Now, with their own families, extended families and a multitude of friends, they decided to bring all of us together and celebrate their mother’s life of strength on her 90th birthday.

We all descended on Raleigh, sharing a weekend of memories, pictures, dancing and food.

Most interestingly were stories of past as Aunt Fay remembered when she and Uncle Tommy were married in 1953 in Christ Church, Virginia Water, Surrey, England. Thomas Noell brought his bride to Shelby in 1954 and soon came the birth of Elizabeth in 1956.

In her introduction into the Shelby community, Aunt Fay was asked by her mother-in-law, Margaret Noell, to do a presentation on “Christmas in England” during her monthly Book Club meeting. I can only imagine how tall she actually stood in her tiny frame captivating her Southern audience with her genuineness. She spoke of chestnut and cheese pie and customs of the British people.

She is just a wisp of a woman, dainty and soft-spoken. As she listens to you and responds, her eyes twinkle like two bright stars, but yet she is also strong in mind and strong in body as it is said of descendants of the Industrial Revolution.

She is Fay Noell, born in Staffordshire, England in 1932. Fay is my husband’s aunt, and I consider myself very lucky to call her Aunt Fay as well.

Fay and I have a lot in common. We both married into the Noell clan, where we had to deal with other strong-minded women. Therefore, we both were intent on raising strong, independent and caring daughters of our own.

I have one daughter and Aunt Fay has three, Elizabeth, Louise and Sarah. Now, with their own families, extended families and a multitude of friends, they decided to bring all of us together and celebrate their mother’s life of strength on her 90th birthday.

We all descended on Raleigh, sharing a weekend of memories, pictures, dancing and food.

Most interestingly were stories of past as Aunt Fay remembered when she and Uncle Tommy were married in 1953 in Christ Church, Virginia Water, Surrey, England. Thomas Noell brought his bride to Shelby in 1954 and soon came the birth of Elizabeth in 1956.

In her introduction into the Shelby community, Aunt Fay was asked by her mother-in-law, Margaret Noell, to do a presentation on “Christmas in England” during her monthly Book Club meeting. I can only imagine how tall she actually stood in her tiny frame captivating her Southern audience with her genuineness. She spoke of chestnut and cheese pie and customs of the British people.

Now, her daughters are carrying on the tradition of preparing chestnut and cheese pie along with Margaret Noell’s recipe for scalloped oysters every Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Aunt Fay’s birthday was a delight and has enriched us all. We came away sporting T-shirts with the slogan written across the front, “Going for the Century!” We have no doubt she’ll make it!

CHESTNUT AND CHEESE PIE

Adapted from Fay Noell’s recipe

1 pound chestnuts, already cooked and split in half (Aunt Fay said it is easier to buy the chestnuts prepared)

1 cup Cheddar cheese, grated

½ cup breadcrumbs from plain white bread

1 Tbs. fresh parsley, chopped

½ cup butter, (1 stick) cut into tablespoons

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a pie plate, rub the inside of the dish with 4 tablespoons of butter. Sprinkle half of the breadcrumbs and coat evenly. Sprinkle 1/3 of the prepared chestnuts and then 1/3 of the grated Cheddar cheese. Repeat layers and end with the remaining breadcrumbs. Sprinkle the chopped parsley and dot with the remaining slices of butter. Bake for 30 minutes or until the pie is golden brown.

SCALLOPED OYSTERS

Margaret Noell’s recipe

3 cups coarse cracker crumbs

1 quart oysters with liquid

2/3 cup butter

2 cups milk

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

Dash of Worcestershire sauce

Arrange alternate layers of cracker crumbs and oysters in a shallow baking dish, ending with cracker crumbs. In a saucepan over low-heat, heat the milk and butter to scalding point, adding the salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Remove the milk and butter mixture from heat and whisk with eggs, adding a little at a time in order to temper. Pour milk and eggs mixture over oysters and bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.